World Olive Oil Competition 2026 Live Updates

Mar. 11, 2026 22:07 UTC

Ylenia Granitto report­ing from Rome

With each new NYIOOC result, the Official Guide​’s inter­ac­tive map updates to show stores around the world car­ry­ing award-win­ning oils.

Users can find the near­est loca­tions by click­ing the Retail Finder in the nav­i­ga­tion menu. The map then dis­plays retail­ers offer­ing extra vir­gin olive oils rec­og­nized at the World Olive Oil Competition.

Below the map, each store appears in its own box with the oils it car­ries and other use­ful details, includ­ing the retailer’s web­site and direc­tions.

As of this update, 76 stores are listed — 33 in the United States and 43 across Europe and Asia — and the list is expected to grow as more results are announced.

Mar. 10, 2026 21:57 UTC

Costas Vassilopoulos report­ing from Athens

Dahbia Olive Oil marked a sig­nif­i­cant mile­stone for Algerian pro­duc­ers at the 2026 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, win­ning a Silver Award and giv­ing the coun­try its first recog­ni­tion at the com­pe­ti­tion since 2023.

Hakim Alileche, the founder of Dahbia Olive Oil, left a suc­cess­ful career in graphic design to con­tinue his family’s cen­turies-old tra­di­tion of olive grow­ing in Djelfa, a city in north-cen­tral Algeria.

The producer’s grove spans 40 hectares and is home to 15,000 olive trees, most of them planted by Alileche since 2005.

The award-win­ning oil was Dahbia’s organic mono­va­ri­etal extra vir­gin olive oil, made from Chemlal olives, a vari­ety that orig­i­nates in Tunisia’s Sfax region.

Mar. 10, 2026 20:21 UTC

Ylenia Granitto report­ing from Rome

As the NYIOOC results con­tinue to unfold, pro­duc­ers from the cen­tral Italian region of Umbria have col­lected eleven awards so far.

Made largely from native olive vari­eties such as Dolce Agogia, San Felice, Borgiona, Frantoio and Moraiolo, the region’s extra vir­gin olive oils con­tinue to hold a steady place in the Official Guide, reflect­ing Umbrian pro­duc­ers’ endur­ing com­mit­ment to qual­ity.

Most of the win­ners are con­cen­trated in the province of Perugia. In Paciano, on the hills over­look­ing Lake Trasimeno, Fontanaro Estate earned a Gold Award for Olio della Pace.

In nearby Panicale, Rastrello received a Silver Award for Rastrello Blend. Top hon­ors also reached Marsciano, where Vubia, Tremilaolive Monocultivar Borgiona and Harvest by Night, the flag­ship oils of Castello Monte Vibiano Vecchio, were rec­og­nized.

At its head­quar­ters in Gualdo Cattaneo, Farchioni Olii cel­e­brated two Gold Awards for Collezione di Famiglia and Olivicoltura Eroica, along with a Silver Award for DOP Umbria Colli Martani.

In Spoleto, Olio Melchiorri earned a Gold Award for Frantoio Melchiorri and a Silver Award for Frutto dell’Olivo Melchiorri. Another Silver Award went to L’Intenditore Melchiorri, pre­sented by De Medici Imports.

Mar. 5, 2026 23:37 UTC

Paolo DeAndreis report­ing from Rome

As World Olive Oil Competition win­ners are revealed, the Official Guide is show­cas­ing more than the season’s most deli­cious oils. It’s offer­ing a clear view of a broader shift in the pre­mium qual­ity seg­ment, where pack­ag­ing is an impor­tant part of how pro­duc­ers dis­tin­guish their brands.

For many of the pro­duc­ers rec­og­nized this year, the pur­suit of qual­ity does­n’t end in the grove or at the mill. It extends to the way the oil is pre­sented, with greater atten­tion paid to bot­tle shape, mate­ri­als, tex­ture and graphic design. Packaging isn’t merely func­tional. It’s the product’s iden­tity and mar­ket posi­tion­ing.

That evo­lu­tion reflects a wider shift in the olive oil sec­tor. At the qual­ity end of the mar­ket, con­sumers encounter the pack­age before they expe­ri­ence the oil itself. The con­tainer design helps com­mu­ni­cate crafts­man­ship, ori­gin and aes­thetic intent, rein­forc­ing the value of the extra vir­gin olive oil inside. The full list of win­ners can be explored in the Official Guide.

Mar. 5, 2026 18:25 UTC

Nedjeljko Jusup report­ing from Zadar

Vedrana Rakovac and Saša Petković say lov­ing what you do is both a plea­sure and a path to suc­cess. Their extra vir­gin olive oil, Bilini, has now earned its eighth Gold Award at the 2026 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.

This season’s har­vest was par­tic­u­larly demand­ing, car­ried out in two rounds (Oct. 16 – 19 and Oct. 26 – Nov. 1). On the first day of the sec­ond round, the car meant to trans­port olives to the mill broke down — a major dis­rup­tion in an oper­a­tion where tim­ing is every­thing — but they man­aged to keep the process mov­ing.

The cou­ple, based in Pula with groves in Rakovci, has com­peted at the NYIOOC since 2018, miss­ing only 2020 due to pan­demic-related ship­ping delays.

They say awards raise a producer’s value — but only if com­mu­ni­cated well. As Petković puts it, mar­ket­ing mat­ters: with­out it, ​“it’s like wink­ing at a girl in the dark.”

For them, olive grow­ing is a hobby, pas­sion, and busi­ness all at once. They remain hands-on, proudly not­ing that every bot­tle of Bilini has been filled and labeled by hand — about 1,500 bot­tles a year, or roughly 15,000 over the past decade.

Mar. 5 18:09 UTC

OOT Staff report­ing from New York

A year ago today (March 5), the first 2025 NYIOOC win­ner was revealed. This year, momen­tum is already strong: 309 award win­ners from 17 coun­tries have been announced in the Official Guide and tal­lied in the Olive Oil Times World Ranking.

Producers who reg­is­tered early and shipped first are help­ing set the pace, and live com­pe­ti­tion data shows the largest annual olive oil qual­ity analy­sis is already 44 per­cent com­plete — on the very day last year’s results began.

Registration stays open through March 15, with the ship­ping dead­line on April 1. Organizers say results will be com­plete by April 15.

Mar. 3, 2026 16:06 UTC

Nedjeljko Jusup report­ing from Zadar, Croatia

Croatia’s strong per­for­mance at the 2026 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition is not only being dri­ven by estab­lished pro­duc­ers. A grow­ing num­ber of new­com­ers are also con­tribut­ing to the country’s suc­cess, includ­ing OPG Branimir Šunić.

Mirko Šunić, his son Branimir and grand­son Vid earned recog­ni­tion for St. Vitus, an extra vir­gin olive oil made from the native Istarska bjel­ica vari­ety.

“The feel­ing is inde­scrib­able,” Branimir Šunić said. ​“This is con­fir­ma­tion that we are on the right path.”

Over the past 17 years, the fam­ily has planted more than 1,380 olive trees on land between Bukovica and Ravni Kotari in north­ern Dalmatia.

“Our olive groves are located at ele­va­tions between 250 and 450 meters, closer to Velebit than to the Adriatic Sea,” the fam­ily said. ​“There is always some risk from win­ter cold, but those colder days and nights usu­ally come when the trees are dor­mant, so they do not cause dam­age.”

The fam­ily chose the name St. Vitus with spe­cial mean­ing. Vid is the name of the youngest mem­ber of the fam­ily, 14-year-old Vid Šunić. Saint Vitus, or Sveti Vid, is revered in Christian tra­di­tion as a child mar­tyr known for courage, stead­fast­ness and faith at a young age. He is also regarded as a patron of sev­eral trades, and the Šunić fam­ily sees the name as a fit­ting sym­bol for their work in olive grow­ing.

With 76 awards so far — 62 Gold and 14 Silver — Croatia cur­rently leads the 2026 NYIOOC results, ahead of Italy, the United States, Spain and other major pro­duc­ing coun­tries.

“We expect strong results in the rest of the com­pe­ti­tion,” Mirko, Branimir and Vid said, express­ing con­fi­dence that Croatia will sur­pass last year’s total, when it fin­ished sec­ond over­all.

Mar 2, 23:49 UTC

Ylenia Granitto report­ing from Rome

Now in its sec­ond month of results, the 2026 NYIOOC has so far rec­og­nized fif­teen oils made with Koroneiki. Across four­teen edi­tions of the com­pe­ti­tion, the vari­ety has main­tained a steady pres­ence in the Official Guide, and last year nearly 60 awards went to mono­va­ri­etals and blends incor­po­rat­ing it.

Native to Greece​’s Peloponnese and named after the town of Koroni, Koroneiki is the country’s most widely planted olive vari­ety. Its adapt­abil­ity and con­sis­tent per­for­mance have helped it spread well beyond its place of ori­gin to olive-grow­ing regions around the world.

Extra vir­gin olive oils made from this cul­ti­var often show notes of freshly cut grass, arti­choke, apple, tomato, banana and aro­matic herbs.

This year’s rec­og­nized oils include a strong group of Greek mono­va­ri­etals, among them Terra Creta, Terra Creta Organic and Terra Creta Grand Cru by Melissa Kikizas SA; Elean Estate Grown by Elean; Dimitri Early Harvest Agoureleo by Dimitri Olive Farms; Laconic Foods Koroneiki by Laconic Foods Inc.; Armakadi Koroneiki by Armakadi PC; Skoutari Olive Oil by Skoutari Olive Oil; Entelia Private Reserve PDO Kolymvari by Kreta Food, Ltd; and Olymythos Koroneiki by AMG Karabelas, which also earned recog­ni­tion for the blends Olymythos Olympia PGI and Laurel & Flame Olympia PGI.

Koroneiki is also part of the two Spanish blends rec­og­nized so far, Artajo 10 Coupage by Aceite Artajo and Magnolio Cru by Aceites Olivar del Valle, as well as the Portuguese mono­va­ri­etal 4 C Koroneiki by 4 C Azeites.

Mar. 2, 2026 15:27 UTC

OOT Staff report­ing from New York

One month into the rolling results of the 2026 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, 235 award-win­ning olive oils have already been revealed — includ­ing 167 Gold Awards and 68 Silver Awards — even before the first results had been pub­lished at this point last year. So far, win­ners from 14 coun­tries have been announced, with Croatia and Italy set­ting the early pace, fol­lowed by the United States, Spain and Greece, as pro­duc­ers across the Northern Hemisphere gar­ner world­wide atten­tion for their achieve­ments.

Feb. 26 12:58 UTC

Nedjeljko Jusup report­ing from Zadar, Croatia

Herzegovina pro­duc­ers have added fresh hon­ors at the 2026 NYIOOC, col­lect­ing six Gold Awards in a new round of results. The lat­est wins fol­low three ear­lier Gold Awards awarded to oils from the Orthodox Tvrdoš monastery.

AgroHerc Organic won two Gold Awards for its Narentas and Narentas Oblica brands. The com­pany farms a large olive plan­ta­tion, cur­rently span­ning 40 hectares with about 12,000 olive trees.

“We will plant another 5,000 saplings in the autumn,” said Ante Karlović, the man­ager of the plan­ta­tion in Gabela, near Čapljina. Alongside olives, the same prop­erty includes about 3,000 fig trees and 5,000 wild pome­gran­ate trees, with addi­tional plant­i­ngs planned.

Karlović said AgroHerc Organic’s prod­ucts are cer­ti­fied organic. The com­pany also reports that it man­ages 140 hectares of Demeter-cer­ti­fied land, mak­ing it one of the largest agri­cul­tural pro­duc­ers in Herzegovina.

The fam­ily-run Škegro Winery also secured a Gold Award for its Krš brand. Mirko Škegro said it was the ninth con­sec­u­tive Gold Award for the family’s olive oil, pro­duced from about 600 trees planted over the past 20 years.

“Our whole fam­ily takes part in the olive har­vest,” Škegro said. Asked what it feels like to win nine Gold Awards in a row, he replied: ​“Indescribable. As if it were the first time.”

Škegro noted that for years he was often the only Herzegovina pro­ducer com­pet­ing at NYIOOC, but par­tic­i­pa­tion has begun to broaden. Last year, Herzegovina pro­duc­ers won 11 awards — six Gold and five Silver — and early results this sea­son have raised expec­ta­tions of an even stronger fin­ish.

Feb. 25, 2026 22:18 UTC

Ylenia Granitto report­ing from Rome

With the first month of results nearly com­plete, sev­eral pro­duc­ers from Andalusia, the world’s largest olive oil-pro­duc­ing region, have been awarded at the NYIOOC.

The area has recorded a drop in pro­duc­tion caused by heavy rains and stormy weather and reached about 485,300 tons of olive oil by the end of December, accord­ing to Spain’s Agriculture Ministry. The out­put of Jaén’s province, which accounts for most of the country’s olive oil pro­duc­tion, is expected to decrease by 45 per­cent com­pared to last year.

Despite these set­backs, qual­ity has remained con­sis­tent. Already eleven extra vir­gin olive oils from the south­ern Spanish autonomous com­mu­nity have already been rec­og­nized in the Official Guide, col­lec­tively tak­ing home ten Gold Awards and one Silver.

Among them are blends of native vari­eties – Arbequina, Picual, Hojiblanca, Picudo – such as Goya Único and Goya Organic by Goya En España (Hojiblanca and Picudo), Virrey del Pino by Olivarera Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Picudo, Hojiblanca and Picual), Oro Del Desierto Organic Coupage by Rafael Alonso Aguilera (Arbequina, Picual and Hojiblanca), and Familia Santías by Familia Santías, which also fea­tures other Spanish cul­ti­vars like Cornezuelo, Pico Limón and Changlot Real.

Rafael Alonso Aguilera has also been awarded for the Picual mono­va­ri­etal Oro Del Desierto Picual. The same vari­ety is at the heart of Dehesa de la Sabina by SCA Ecologica la Olivilla, Oleocampo Premium Picual by Oleocampo, Pago de Espejo Picual by Pago de Espejo SL, and Oh! by The Green Gold Olive Oil Company. An award also went to the Hojiblanca mono­va­ri­etal Lucentina by Cooperativa Olivarera de Lucena.

Feb. 25, 2026 14:48 UTC

OOT Staff report­ing from New York

Orum Araz Nikdaneh has earned a Gold Award at the 2026 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition for Razbon, mark­ing the first NYIOOC Gold Award recorded for a pro­ducer from Iran.

In his pro­file, Nikdaneh links Razbon’s ori­gins to Golestan’s long olive-grow­ing tra­di­tion and to the Tooba orchard devel­op­ment plan, a national ini­tia­tive launched in the mid-1990s to expand fruit orchards on sloped and arid land, includ­ing olive plant­i­ngs.

Founded in 2021, Razbon was estab­lished to build an export-ready pro­duc­tion model in the province, empha­siz­ing inno­va­tion, con­sis­tency, and qual­ity.

Feb. 25, 2026 14:20 UTC

Ylenia Granitto report­ing from Rome

Nearly a month into the NYIOOC results, ten extra vir­gin olive oils from Tuscany have already been rec­og­nized in the Official Guide.

They include D’Uliva by D’Uliva di RP in Castiglione della Pescaia, Podere il Montaleo Blend by Podere il Montaleo in Casale Marittimo, Olio le Masse by Villa le Masse and Armonia 528 Hz by Azienda Olearia del Chianti SRL in Panzano in Chianti, Pruneti Frantoio by Frantoio Pruneti in San Polo in Chianti, Laudemio Fattoria San Michele a Torri by Fattoria San Michele a Torri in Scandicci, Villa la Ripa by Villa la Ripa Srl in Arezzo, Bramasole by The Tuscan Sun in Cortona, Maraviglia by Agricola Maraviglia in Monte San Savino, and L’Olio Bio by Pometti di Pometti Carlotta in Trequanda.

Sourced from the coastal areas of Maremma to the hills of Chianti and Val di Chiana, the rec­og­nized oils are mostly blends with a few mono­va­ri­etals, fea­tur­ing typ­i­cal Tuscan vari­eties such as Frantoio, Moraiolo, Leccino, Pendolino and Maurino.

Generally medium to robust in fruiti­ness, the oils show bal­anced pun­gency and bit­ter­ness, with pre­dom­i­nant notes of arti­choke, herbs and arugula, plus hints of almond, pep­per and nuts.

Feb. 19 20:16 UTC

Ylenia Granitto report­ing from Rome

With the NYIOOC results under­way, sev­eral olive oil tourism expe­ri­ences are already dis­played in the Official Guide, with more to be added in the com­ing weeks as new win­ners are announced.

Among them are Cooperativa Olivarera De Lucena in Córdoba (Spain), Mandranova in Palma di Montechiaro (Italy), Galjin Dvor in Primošten (Croatia), and Lučka Olive in Tuzi (Montenegro).

Clicking the Tourism sec­tion in the nav­i­ga­tion menu opens a map show­ing where award-win­ning pro­duc­ers offer­ing these expe­ri­ences are located. Below the map, pro­duc­ers appear in boxes out­lin­ing what’s avail­able, includ­ing tast­ings, lodg­ing, estate or har­vest tours, courses or work­shops, and the option to use the estate as an events venue.

Users can book expe­ri­ences by select­ing a point on the map or one of the list­ings, each fea­tur­ing a ​“Book Now” but­ton along­side ​“Directions” to reach the loca­tion.

Feb 18 19:08 UTC

OOT Staff report­ing from New York

Here are some reac­tions found on the Official Guide from award-win­ning pro­duc­ers so far as results con­tinue to be released:

“Winning a Gold Award) cel­e­brates the qual­ity of our Picual olives and our strong con­nec­tion to the land and fam­ily tra­di­tions.” — Miguel Moreno, La Casilla

“Thrilled to be rec­og­nized for pro­duc­ing excel­lent organic extra vir­gin olive oil. All thanks to our team who pro­duced such healthy olives.” — Louisa Sherman, Domaine de Gerbaud.

“The ini­tial heat waves forced us to bring for­ward the har­vest, accept­ing a reduc­tion in oil yield in order to pri­or­i­tize qual­ity. The result is a har­mo­nious and com­plex EVOO, rec­og­nized with an inter­na­tional gold medal that endorses the com­mit­ment of our farm­ers.” — Antonio Pozo, Cooperativa Olivarera de Lucena

“To us, this isn’t just a tro­phy. It is a trib­ute to four gen­er­a­tions of my fam­ily who have worked the land in Rakalj, Istria, Croatia. To see our small fam­ily hold­ing rec­og­nized on a global stage amongst 10,000 entries is a tes­ta­ment to the fact that when tra­di­tion meets qual­ity, the results are world-class.” — Sergio Frančula, OPG Provaža

“What a year — tough, demand­ing, and absolutely worth it. Winning Gold is the per­fect recog­ni­tion of the work, the pas­sion, and the com­mit­ment behind every bot­tle.” — Rita Guastella, D’Uliva di RP

“This sea­son was chal­leng­ing again, with high tem­per­a­tures and lack of rain. We are very happy that we have man­aged to win medal again and that gives us great boost of moti­va­tion to keep try­ing and do even bet­ter job.” — Jasmin Marinković, OPG Jasmin Marinković

“Through a year of unex­pected chal­lenges, we cared for every stage of cul­ti­va­tion in our groves with ded­i­ca­tion and hard work, and we thank God for the abun­dant, high-qual­ity har­vest He blessed us with.” — Nikos Nikolopoulos, Armakadi PC

Feb. 17 16:54 UTC

Ylenia Granitto report­ing from Rome

As the third week of results unfolds, sev­eral organic-cer­ti­fied olive oils have been rec­og­nized in the Official Guide. Among them are Rizman Organic by Rizman from Croatia, L’Olio Bio by Pometti Carlotta (Italy), Lefkada Micro Farm Organic by Lefkada Micro Farm (Greece), Showa Farm Organic Arbequina by Showa Farm (United States), and Domaine de Gerbaud BIO AOP Provence by Domaine de Gerbaud (France).

Across its 14 edi­tions, the NYIOOC has shown a steady rise in organic entries, with expected fluc­tu­a­tions along the way. A record num­ber of organic extra vir­gin olive oils were sub­mit­ted in 2024, with 35 per­cent of entries cer­ti­fied organic, com­pared with 22 per­cent in 2014.

The tra­jec­tory out­lined in the World Competition’s data reflects broader global mar­ket dynam­ics: accord­ing to the lat­est fig­ures, the organic olive oil mar­ket is grow­ing glob­ally and is expected to reach $2.2 bil­lion by 2031, ris­ing by nearly nine per­cent annu­ally. The increase is being dri­ven by grow­ing con­sumer inter­est in health­ier, sus­tain­ably pro­duced food and pol­icy sup­port for organic agri­cul­ture.

Feb. 16, 2026 18:12 UTC

Nedjeljko Jusup report­ing from Zadar

Croatian pro­duc­ers are track­ing early NYIOOC World results as awards begin to roll in along the Adriatic.

Nino Brajković, a sur­geon at Šibenik General Hospital, earned a Silver Award on his first entry. ​“For a first time, sil­ver is a great suc­cess,” he said.

Brajković and his wife, Katarina, tend 130 trees and pro­duced the award-win­ning Doktorova Likarija blend, made mainly from Oblica (Sladunica) and Krvavica.

He said the name reflects his view of high-qual­ity extra vir­gin olive oil as an ​“elixir,” and added he hopes to cre­ate a botan­i­cal gar­den to pre­serve local cul­ti­vars such as Piculja, Paićuša, Mrkulja and Plavica. ​“If we can’t com­pete on vol­ume, we can com­pete on qual­ity,” he said.

Brajković is also part of the Oleum Primum Dalmaticom club, which pro­motes oils made from indige­nous vari­eties.

In the lat­est tally, Croatia led with 23 awards (19 Gold and four Silver), fol­lowed by Italy with 22 (21 Gold and one Silver). The United States had 13 (seven Gold, six Silver), Spain 10 (seven Gold, three Silver) and Greece six (three Gold, three Silver).

Portugal, Turkey, Lebanon, France and Montenegro also appeared in early results, with about 12 per­cent of sub­mit­ted sam­ples eval­u­ated so far.

Feb. 16, 2026 16:19 UTC

OOT Staff report­ing from New York

Early results from the 2026 NYIOOC sug­gest that pro­duc­ers from Italy, Croatia, the United States and at least seven other coun­tries opted into the competition’s ear­lier reg­is­tra­tion option, allow­ing them to receive results first and gain addi­tional time to pub­li­cize their awards.

Results began one month ear­lier than last year, and two weeks into the release period, the Official Guide’s real-time results indi­cate that an esti­mated 12 per­cent of analy­ses have been com­pleted so far. Registration remains open on a rolling basis as addi­tional sam­ples con­tinue to be eval­u­ated.

Feb. 12 12:03 UTC

Paolo DeAndreis report­ing from Rome

As the win­ners are announced at the 2026 World Olive Oil Competition, each award appears in real time on the Official Guide’s inter­ac­tive world map. Every day, new shin­ing Gold and Silver awards light up the globe.

The map reveals the global reach of excep­tional olive oil pro­duc­tion, high­light­ing the work of hun­dreds of pro­duc­ers who con­tin­u­ally refine their agri­cul­tural prac­tices and invest in inno­va­tion, rais­ing the qual­ity and rep­u­ta­tion of their prod­ucts year after year.

NYIOOC Live Map

Feb. 10, 13:58 UTC

Nedjeljko Jusup report­ing from Zadar

Croatian pro­duc­ers have surged to an early lead at the NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition, col­lect­ing 17 awards in the first round of 2026 results, includ­ing 15 Gold Awards and two Silvers.

“We’re first,” said Ante Vulin, an olive grower from Pakoštane, as Croatia topped the early leader­board among north­ern hemi­sphere coun­tries. Italy fol­lowed with 14 awards (13 Golds and one Silver), while the United States ranked third with 12 awards (six Golds and six Silvers). Spain placed fourth with six awards, fol­lowed by Greece, Lebanon, Portugal, France, Turkey and Tunisia.

Producers from Pakoštane accounted for a large share of Croatia’s early suc­cess. Vulin earned another Gold for his extra vir­gin olive oil brand Antino, mark­ing his fifth con­sec­u­tive year win­ning Gold in New York. He and his fam­ily cul­ti­vate about 1,100 olive trees, with roughly 550 in full pro­duc­tion.

A notable theme in the early results has been the con­tin­ued loy­alty of many Pakoštane grow­ers to tra­di­tional cul­ti­vars, par­tic­u­larly Oblica, an indige­nous Dalmatian vari­ety.

Alongside Vulin, Gold Awards for Oblica oils went to Tomislav Čudina (OPG Celini) and Sebastijan Adžić (Leut Group). Adžić, a Croatian war vet­eran who lost a leg, said he has con­tin­ued to work per­sis­tently as both a restau­ra­teur and olive grower. ​“It’s started well — we just need to keep it going,” he said.

Ante Lokin also earned Gold for Ćaće Moga, a mono­va­ri­etal Oblica extra vir­gin olive oil.

Vinko Lalin main­tained a role for Oblica in his Dalma Premium blend, com­bin­ing it with the local Levantinka vari­ety and the intro­duced Picholine and Pendolino. ​“Even though we grafted part of the grove over to other vari­eties, from a total of 450 trees we pro­duced 2,000 liters of oil,” he said, adding that he was sat­is­fied with this year’s yield.

Slavo Stojanov of OPG Didini dvori – Agroturizam Plavica won a Silver Award with oils made from Oblica and Plavica. ​“This time we won Silver, but sil­ver shines too,” he said.

Several pro­duc­ers empha­sized pride in their prod­ucts and the con­nec­tion between place and qual­ity in the olive-grow­ing com­mu­nity, located on Croatia’s Adriatic coast near Lake Vrana, the country’s largest lake.

Beyond Dalmatia, Croatia’s early haul also included awards for pro­duc­ers in Istria. Avistria, which cul­ti­vates about 4,800 olive trees near Sveti Lovreč, earned recog­ni­tion again this year. The com­pany is owned by Beatrix and Rudolf Nemetsche, an Austrian cou­ple.

OPG Rajne i Sinovi from Stankovci received a Gold Award for Dalmatinski Robustnjak, described as an organic extra vir­gin olive oil pro­duced under strict eco­log­i­cal stan­dards.

Istrian pro­duc­ers have also begun appear­ing on the win­ners’ list. ​“Istria won’t lag behind Dalmatia,” said Saša Petković, the pro­ducer behind the Bilini brand.

With just 8 per­cent of the 2026 com­pe­ti­tion results released so far, accord­ing to the Olive Oil Times World Ranking, Croatian pro­duc­ers said they hope to remain near the top of the stand­ings. Last year, Croatia fin­ished sec­ond over­all with 125 awards, becom­ing run­ner-up at the world’s largest olive oil qual­ity com­pe­ti­tion.

Feb. 6, 2026 17:00 UTC

Ylenia Granitto report­ing from Rome

As the first week of results draws to a close, sev­eral blends made their entry in the Official Guide.

Three Croatian blends – Olea Magica by OPG Olea Magica, Dalma Premium by OPG Lalin, and Leut by Leut Groupa – earned Gold Awards, along with two from Italy – Olio Fonte della Pace by Fontanaro Estate and Vipiano by Giancarlo Giannini, and Spain’s Oro Del Desierto Organic Coupage by Rafael Alonso Aguilera.

The per­cent­age of blends awarded over four­teen edi­tions of the NYIOOC amounts to 44 per­cent of all win­ning oils.

A blend is obtained by com­bin­ing two or more olive vari­eties in vary­ing pro­por­tions. It may result from a field blend­ing or from mix­ing oil in the mill after each vari­ety has been milled sep­a­rately. Some blends are crafted accord­ing to the nat­ural vari­etal com­po­si­tion of grove, while oth­ers are care­fully stud­ied and cus­tomized to obtain a spe­cific sen­sory pro­file.

Feb. 4, 2026 16:53 UTC

Ylenia Granitto report­ing from Rome

In the first few days of results, the 2026 NYIOOC has already awarded six Coratina mono­va­ri­etals. Among them are Dedolio Coratina by Dedolio and Parco delle Lamie by Fratelli Fiore, both earn­ing their sec­ond Gold Award.

Each year, the con­sis­tent pres­ence of this vari­ety in the Official Guide reflects its broad dif­fu­sion. Named for the Apulian town of Corato, Coratina is cul­ti­vated not only in its area of ori­gin but also across many regions world­wide, thanks to its adapt­abil­ity to dif­fer­ent grow­ing con­di­tions. From an agro­nomic per­spec­tive, the tree is known for good pro­duc­tiv­ity, while the fruit typ­i­cally shows late and stag­gered ripen­ing.

With its high polyphe­nol con­tent, Coratina extra vir­gin olive oil is prized for a dis­tinc­tive sen­sory pro­file, often marked by medium to intense fruiti­ness and notes of almond and freshly cut grass.

Feb. 3, 2026 23:12 UTC

OOT Staff report­ing from New York

As the first 2026 NYIOOC results appear, they do so in a year when many pro­duc­ers say qual­ity held firm even as pro­duc­tion remained uneven.

In the annual Olive Oil Times Harvest Survey, respon­dents described a 2025 cam­paign shaped by extremes: excel­lent fruit health and stand­out oils in many groves, but incon­sis­tent yields under the com­bined pres­sure of heat, volatile weather, higher costs and uncer­tain mar­kets.

Producers rated the sea­son 67 out of 100 in the poll, a mid­dling score that reflected a split real­ity — some regions rebounded from an ​“off” year, while oth­ers slipped into one, under­scor­ing how local cli­mate pat­terns and alter­nate-bear­ing cycles con­tinue to dic­tate out­comes.

Feb. 2, 2026 21:55 UTC

OOT Staff report­ing from New York

Oro Del Desierto Organic Coupage was the most awarded extra vir­gin olive oil brand going into the 14^th edi­tion of the NYIOOC, and pro­ducer Rafael Alonso Aguilera has assured it stays that way, with another Gold Award revealed on the very first day of results.

The organic blend from Tabernas, Spain leads more than 1,700 brands from 38 coun­tries in the Olive Oil Times World Ranking — a tes­ta­ment to the fam­ily com­pa­ny’s out­stand­ing con­sis­tency. There will be more cov­er­age of their achieve­ment in the days ahead.

Feb. 2, 2026 21:43 UTC

OOT Staff report­ing from New York

After the first day of results, 11 brands from Italy, Greece, Spain, Lebanon and Montenegro are listed in the Official Guide and Olive Oil Times World Ranking. The NYIOOC ana­lyzes entries in the order they are received through­out the judg­ing period, giv­ing these first win­ners a head start in the mar­ket­place. NYIOOC orga­niz­ers noted that the first results were released a month ear­lier than last year’s March 3^rd start.

Feb 2, 2026 00:35 UTC

OOT Staff report­ing from New York

Frantoio Muraglia, a fifth-gen­er­a­tion pro­ducer from Andria in south­ern Italy, earned Gold Awards for its Essenza Fruttato Intenso, Gran Cru Tenuta Macchia di Rose and Denocciolato olive oils. The Muraglia fam­ily has cul­ti­vated olives in Puglia for more than 160 years, pair­ing tra­di­tion with inno­va­tion aimed at improv­ing qual­ity and sus­tain­abil­ity. Managing direc­tor Savino Muraglia said the company’s agro­nomic prac­tices focus on bio­di­ver­sity and car­bon reduc­tion, not­ing that sus­tain­abil­ity is ​“a life choice” rooted in what farm­ers do in the coun­try­side rather than what appears on a label.

This is a devel­op­ing story. Check back for updates. (Updated Mar. 11, 2026 22:12)

More updates

Continuous cov­er­age of the 2026 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition

• 2026 World Olive Oil Competition cov­er­age on OOT
• NYIOOC 2026 Live Updates
• Official Guide to the World’s Best Olive Oils
• World Olive Oil Rankings
• NYIOOC Help Center and Press Room
• NIOOC Marketplace